You're reading: Tigipko gains strength as decisive day arrives

Will he sneak into the second round?

Sergiy Tigipko

Age: 49

Hometown: Dragoneshty region, Moldova

Education: Dnipropetrovsk Metallurgy Institute (1982)

Career: Banker, politician

Political Posts: National Bank of Ukraine chairman (2002-04), deputy prime minister, minister

Campaign slogan: “Strong Ukraine”

Family status: Married, four children

Famous quote: “Corruption has permeated all spheres of life in Ukraine. The weak, disintegrated power is not capable of overcoming this evil.”

Like a jack sprung from the box, Sergiy Tigipko is the wonder of this presidential election campaign. Capitalizing on the Ukrainians’ longing for new faces, he shot from political oblivion last spring to a potential third spot among 18 contenders. He also could surprise everyone by making it into the second-round runoff.

The Moldova-born former banker spent the last five years developing his business and starting a young family with his second wife. Then he decided to have a second go in politics less than a year ago. Tigipko has repeatedly said that, regardless of the outcome of the election, he will stay in politics for at least the next five years and will consider any big job offer that comes his way.

“He would make a good president in a classical parliamentary republic and represent the country well,” said Hlib Vyshlinsky, custom research director for GfK Ukraine, a market research company. “But an executive job would be more difficult.”

Many observers give him high chances to become the country’s prime minister sometime soon. That could strengthen his budding political party, Strong Ukraine, ahead of the next parliamentary elections in 2011. Others say he is just a stalking-horse, or “technical,” candidate working for Yulia Tymoshenko to steal votes from Victor Yanukovych, who has consistently led in the pre-election polls.

The 49-year-old multi-millionaire is not a novice in politics. During his first stint in the late 1990s and early 2000s, he served as a deputy prime minister, a minister and national bank chief. He headed Yanukovych’s election campaign in 2004 – the last big job in politics before he decided to take a break.

Twice Tigipko had expected an offer from former President Leonid Kuchma to become the country’s prime minister, in 2001 and 2004, but was trumped by Anatoliy Kinakh and Yanukovych.

In a 2001 interview with Stolichni Novosti newspaper, Tigipko said that he prepared thoroughly for the job of prime minister then: “I will tell you sincerely: I prepared for that job. I read a ton of stuff, started a special notebook. I even had [a plan] written down in a special book: the first week, the second, the first month, and the first 100 days. They say many of those things are used by economists to this day.”

He continues to repeat on his campaign trail that he takes the same careful attitude to the potential presidency. His style is first do the homework, consult experts and then make a decision. Before the official start of election campaign he released a book called “Ukraine: The Project for Development.” His book can be bought in stores or ordered on http://kniga.biz.ua/book/state/-1/574/ for Hr 38.

Expert opinions are divided on Tigipko’s program. Some say he disappointed as an economist; others say he showed a good understanding of economic priorities and macroeconomics. “I have doubts [his program] can be executed, that he can organize thousands of people to implement these priorities and achieve goals,” Vyshlinsky said.

The book and Tigipko’s presidential campaign program alike rotate around the theme of strength. Tigipko talks about the need of strong presidential power for Ukraine, balanced with an easy impeachment procedure, as well as strong regions and a strong economy. He wants to achieve the political goals through changes in the Constitution and economic ones through liberalization of the playing field for business.

Like most Ukrainian politicians, Tigipko is no saint. He promises to improve Ukraine’s business climate, but his history shows he too has skeletons in the closet. For example, while head of Ukraine’s central bank before the Orange Revolution, Tigipko engaged in a clear conflict of interest by simultaneously building up his own bank. Several years ago, he ended up selling the business for over $ 700 million to a Swedish banking group.

Reflecting his “strong candidate” campaign slogan, Tigipko’s revitalized political party was renamed from Labor Ukraine to Strong Ukraine, with a mighty oak tree chosen as its symbol. Tigipko’s personal image cultivated throughout the $11 million campaign is that of a macho man in charge.

Kost Bondarenko, head of the Gorshenin Institute think tank, said the campaign reflects Tigipko’s personality. “It’s a natural extension for the person who fanatically pumps iron,” he said.

Tigipko eagerly talks about his sporty lifestyle. “Working very intensively, you quickly start to realize that it’s difficult to remain in shape with this sort of regime, and preserve optimism – you have to seriously take care of your health. That’s why I run every day, pump iron – in other words, support my vitality,” he said in a Jan. 5 interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda.

He said promotion of sport is important on the national level, too. “Build stadiums and gyms, otherwise you’ll have to build hospitals and prisons,” Tigipko said. “If we really care about the nation’s health, if we want to have fewer criminals, drug addicts and unhealthy people, we have to start by developing sport for children.”

It is Tigipko’s team that has been the biggest question of his campaign. Yuriy Kostenko, another presidential candidate who faced Tigipko in official televised debates on Jan. 4, questioned him about the team. The latter, however, said he “does not have any trouble” finding team members. He has continuously said that his team would be formed from younger professionals, based on their merits, but named few publically.

Tigipko’s election team is an ad hoc crew of faces both old and new. His official representative in the Central Election Commission and 225 local territorial commissions, for example, is 28-year-old Oleksandra Pavlenko, a dynamic lawyer and partner in Pavlenko and Poberezhnyuk Law Group with an impressive resume in law business, referred to as “Tigipko’s public face.”

Another top representative is 47-year-old Petro Petrashko, an authoritative economics management professor and former head of the state treasury. But other representatives seem to command less authority: Vasyl Chernets, 65, rector of the state academy training management staff for culture and arts – an obsolete educational institution.

Another representative, Borys Andresiuk, 47-year-old former deputy, used to be a member of the defense committee in parliament, but is not remembered for any significant achievements.The other top representative in the Central Election Commission that Tigipko trusts is Serhiy Viter, head of management board of Media Park, a company that owns a CD- and DVD-making plant just outside of Kyiv capable of producing 2.5 million disks per month. Tigipko’s wife, Victoria Lopatetska, owns the business.

“Every person has their use in this campaign,” said Oleksandr Omelchuk, Tigipko’s spokesman. ”They are professional, systematic and learn very fast.”

Kyiv Post editor Katya Gorchinskaya can be reached at [email protected].